The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia
by ASlaveToWords
Summary: After a long and hard two weeks of work, Tala comes home to some bad news. Furious and outraged, he intends to take revenge but when the time comes, he finds he's been beaten to it. Unfortunately, he's the one to take the blame.


**A/N_:_** This story was inspired by the song "The Night The lights Went Out In Georgia" By Reba McEntire. Its a rather sad story (or I think it is) but I think you'll like it btw, just for the story's sake; lets's pretend Tala and Salima are brother and sister and (though I'm not sure if they are or not) let's also pretend Kane and Salima AREN'T related (otherwise... ew).

**Warnings:** AU. Slight language. Slight violence, graphic and mature content. Character Death.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beyblade, any of the characters or the song used/mentioned herein.  
_

* * *

  
He was on his way home from candletop. Been two weeks gone and he thought he'd stop at Webs and have him a drink 'fore he went home to her._

Tala sighed to himself as he plopped down onto the bar stool and ordered himself a drink. His hands reached up to rub his temples as his eyes slid shut heavily. He'd been gone away on a business trip and it had been hard work. He wasn't sure why he put up with the things he did when it came to his job but it was good money and he was sure there were worse things he could be doing. In any case, if he had one consolation it was that he was always coming home to a beautiful wife and a loving home.

The redhead's eyes opened as he heard a soft clink signifying that his drink had been set before him. Just as he raised his drink to his lips, a body seated itself beside the young man and said man turned his head in mild curiosity.

"Hey."

Tala starred at the blunette for a minute before turning away and sipping his drink.

"How ya doin', Kane? Miss me?"

Kane's face was straight and emotionless as he starred at the young man beside him. Ignoring the redheads comment he spoke again.

"I gotta talk to ya man." The blunette said seriously. "I gotta tell ya somethin' and it's not gonna be pretty."

Tala paused with his drink to his lips and starred silently ahead of him for a minute before finally placing the glass down onto the bar and turning back to Kane with a grave expression. However, before the redhead could speak, Kane spoke again.

"I'm you're best friend, you and I both know that. But... you won't find Julia at home tonight."

Tala's brows furrowed and Kane's expression deepened before he continued again.

"Since you've been gone she's been seeing that Russian boy, Kai."

Tala's expression turned severe before he wordlessly stood up and pushed his chair away from the bar. He turned angrily on his heel, ready to storm out of the bar to track his wife down. Before he could get very far however, Tala felt a hand on his arm and turned an indirect murderous glare on his best friend.

"Hang on!" Kane insisted firmly. "Don't lose your head. Get the facts straight... Truth is; she's been gettin' around alot, and... well, I've been with her myself."

_That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia. That's the night that they hung an innocent man. Don't trust your soul to no back woods southern lawyer. Cause the judge in the towns got bloodstains on his hands._

Kane got scared and left the bar, deciding to walk the short distance home rather then face Tala's wrath. He knew what Tala's temper was like and he knew the redhead was ready for murder -- if the breaking of five stools and all the glasses laid out on the bar was any indication. The blunette knew Tala was livid and he also knew he had every right to be; if it was him he knew he'd be the same way. Unfortunately, mistakes are permanent and can't be taken back. He felt terrible for what he'd done but he knew that there was nothing he could do at the moment to fix it.

The blunette frowned as he pulled the collar of his coat up around his neck and shoved his hands in his pockets to help shelter him against the wind. It was all bad enough that he had so few friends, but now he'd lost his best one over something that should never have happened. Well, at least he had a consolation prize; he wasn't going home to an empty house.

* * *

Tala's teeth were clenched in a furious rage as he stormed through the door of his house, nearly tearing the door from it's hinges as he did. As soon as he entered the deathly silent house he knew immediately that his wife was nowhere handy to the place. Good thing too since the redhead was sure he would have murdered her in cold blood anyway. She must have left town....

Smart girl.

Sapphire blue eyes were wide with rage as he tore into his room and demolished the place until he finally found the only thing his daddy had left him; a gun.

Tucking the pistol into his belt and covering it with his coat, Tala left his house again to walk a well-worn path that would lead him to an all-too-familiar house.

When he'd finally reached the modest log-cabin style home, Tala crept, silent as a mouse, out of the trees and towards the back door. When he approached his ex-best friend's house however, the redhead furrowed his brows as he saw a pair of footprints in the mud; footprints far too small for Kane to make. With a disgusted scowl, he reasoned them to be his wife's prints and made a face before turning away from them.

Tala approached the back porch and crept up the steps until he could see through the screen door. Just as his hand reached out to grab the door handle however, the redhead froze at the sight that greeted his eyes. Laying in a puddle of his own blood was the very blunette he'd seen only hours before, dead.

A whirl of emotions swirling through him, Tala turned to see a Georgia patrol car drive by, doing their nightly rounds. Reaching for the pistol in his belt, Tala pulled it out ans stuck it into the air before firing a shot. Immediately the squad car flicked on it's lights and was in the driveway in the blink of an eye. Before Tala could comprehend what had happened he was in handcuffs and being lead to the squad car.

"Why'd ya do it, son?!" The pot-bellied officer was asking him over and over. "Why'd ya do it?!"

But Tala said nothing. He simply sat wordlessly in the back of the car as it drove away from the scene of the crime.

* * *

_The judge said "guilty" in a make believe trial. Slapped the sheriff on the back with a smile and said; "Supper's waitin' at home and I got to get to it."_

_That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia. That's the night that they hung an innocent man. Don't trust your soul to no back woods southern lawyer. 'Cause the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands._

Tala starred blankly out the window of his cell as he awaited his execution. He barely registered the sound of a door opening and closing and only turned absently when he heard someone whisper his name. The door to the room was barely shut and the officer in charge of him was only just out of the room when the redhead found himself enveloped in a tight embrace.

"I am so sorry!!" Sobbed the small creature in his arms, her voice muffled due to her face being buried into his chest. "I came as soon as I heard!! This is all my fault!!

Tala starred down at the figure in his arms and furrowed his brows.

"What are you talking about?" He asked in confusion.

His sister lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him with huge dewy bright eyes.

"It was me..."

Tala lifted an eyebrow.

"What was you?"

The redhead below him bit her lip as she blinked back her tears.

"I shot him..."

Tala's eyes widened slightly in shock as he starred down at the young woman in his arms. But instead of yelling at her or going balistic or anything she'd expected, he placed his hands on her shoulders before looking around cautiously as if the walls did indeed have ears. When he looked back at his sister again his expression was serious.

"Salima, I don't want you to ever tell anyone it was you, you hear me?"

Salima's eyes widened as big as saucers.

"What?!" She gasped in horror. "What are you talking about! Tala, you're going to be hanged tomorrow morning for something you didn't do!"

"And you'll be hanged instead of me if you open you mouth!" He growled fiercely. "Don't you dare say anything, you hear me?! Nothing! Not ever!!"

A loud sob escaped the younger redhead as she blinked up at her older brother through grief-striken eyes.

"But that doesn't make sense!!" She exclaimed angrily. "I won't let you swing for something I did!"

Tala clenched his teeth.

"That bastard's got it in for me already, Salima! He's been messing around with Julia too and he'll have me hanged tomorrow no matter what! If you tell then he'll hang us both under the guise that you helped me!" Tala gave Salima's shoulders a good shake and starred deeply into her eyes. "I'm gonna die no matter what. They won't believe you! You weren't there, I was -- gun and all. You gotta promise me Li! Promise me you'll never tell a soul!"

Salima's heart was breaking and the teeth biting her lips were pressing hard enough to draw blood. Seeing the doubt in her eyes, Tala growled at her.

"Promise me!" Tala insisted desperately, giving her shoudlers another good shake.

When Salima finally tasted the tang of blood in her mouth she pursed her lips together and closed her eyes. After a long, deep and calming breath she paused a moment before finally speaking.

"I promise..." She whispered, barely audible.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the door to the room opened and both occupants of the cell heard a third voice.

"Time's up misses. Come on out."

Salima opened her eyes and starred up at Tala. He starred back at her for a moment before giving her a slight nod. Chewing her cheek, Salima threw her arms around Tala and buried her face in his chest.

"I love you." She choked painfully.

Tala closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her too, shattering whatever was left of the young woman's heart.

"Don't break your promise, Li." Tala whispered so only she could hear.

"Now!"

Salima scowled at the guard's voice and finally pulled away from her brother. Without another word or look, she turned away from him and exited the cell, making sure to give the guard a nice, scathing glare on her way past. At the door to the room she paused before leaving.

"I'll make them all pay for this, Tala." She said softly, knowing he could hear her. "I swear it."

And without another word, she finally walked through the door and left the building.

* * *

_They hung my brother before I could say; the tracks he saw while on his way to Kane's house and back that night were mine. And his cheatin wife had never left town, that's one body thatll be found. You see little sister don't miss when she aims her gun._

Salima starred down at the gravestone below her with a serious expression.

**Tala Ivanov. 1937-1962. Beloved son, brother and husband. God have mercy on his soul.**

The redhead scowled at the inscription, chosen by the very judge whom had condemned her brother to death.

She still remembered like it was hours ago the whirl of emotions she felt when she'd come home that night... the night she'd committed a crime her brother had paid the ultimate price for.

-----

"Kane! Baby, I'm home!"

Salima stopped and listened, surprised to hear silence as she entered the house after just returning home from work. It was strange, usually her beloved blunette was nearby, ready to greet her with a warm smile and a kiss. She knew he was home because his car was in the driveway. Maybe in the shower?

The read's face turned upwards as she heard a small thump from upstairs. And... was that giggling?

Salima frowned as she headed for the stairs, a sickening feeling building up in the pit of her stomach. Slowly she climbed the flight of stairs, her feet feeling more and more like lead with each and every stair she took. Finally she reached the top of the stairs and turned to her right, hesitating only a moment before heading down the hall. Reaching her bedroom door, Salima lifted a hand and pushed open the already slightly ajar door. Her heart twisted painfully at the not-so-surprising sight laid out on her bed.

It took a moment for the couple in the bed to realize they had an audience, but when finally Kane noticed the woman in the doorway, his face paled and he pushed his companions head away from his neck.

"Salima!" He gasped. "What.... what are you doing home so early..?"

"I finished up early." She growled bitterly, her eyes narrowed on her fiancee and brother's wife before her.

The brunette sharing Kane's bed blinked at Salima before a devilish expression crossed her face and she leaned over to snake her arms around Kane's neck.

"Too bad." She cooed with a smirk. "We had hoped you wouldn't have to find out like this."

Kane pushed Julia off of him.

"This isn't what it looks like!" The blunette said with a frown. "This meant nothing to me."

Julia, unfazed, smirked again before reaching out to draw circles on the blunette's chest with her finger.

"That's not what you said last week... or the week before." Julia paused and giggled before continuing. "Or all the weeks before that."

Kane swatted Julia's hand away from him and moved to get out of the bed.

"Li-"

"Don't call me that!" The redhead snapped, scowling at the nick only her brother reserved the right to call her. "You've crossed the line this time you bastard!"

Kane moved to approach his fiancee but a gun in his face stopped him dead in his tracks. The two in the bed's eyes widened as they noticed the open drawer of the dresser, having completely missed her moving towards it in the first place.

"Salima! Don't do this!" Kane pleaded desperately.

"Yes..." Julia purred maddeningly. "You've already lost your fiancee. Do you really wanna lose your freedom too?"

"Shut-up!" Kane snapped at the brunette. But the redhead was now furious.

"I'd gladly rot in a cell for you!" Salima hissed. "It would be worth it knowing I was the one to put a bullet in your head. Rot in hell you bitch!"

And with that she pulled the trigger and did exactly as she promised -- put a bullet right in Julia's head.

Kane's eyes widened in horror.

"Salima!!" He exclaimed, his voice an octave higher then normal. "What have you done?!"

Kane made to move back to the brunette now dead on the bed but the click of Salima cocking her gun again once more stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't move!" She growled savagely. "You're lucky that bullet isn't in your head! _Don't _tempt me!"

Kane watched with wide eyes, his breathing heavy and uneven as he watched Salima grab Julia's ankles and drag her from the bed, a loud thump following as the brunette's body hit the floor and proceeded to be dragged across it and out of the room.

Salima dragged the limp body of her brother's wife down the stairs, almost loving the thumping the dead weight made as her head bounced on the stairs. Finally she reached the back door and opened it, ready to drag the body outside until a voice stopped her.

"Salima! You can't do this!"

Salima paused and looked up, her face contorting angrily as she glared at the man walking towards her.

"Stop! Don't come any closer, Kane!!"

But the blunette kept coming.

"Sal, listen to me!"

Salima scowled at him and pulled the pistol from her pocket to lift up at him again.

"I said stop!" She snapped angrily. Kane frowned but kept coming.

"You won't shoot me." He said confidently. "I know you won't. You love me too much. And I lo-"

BANG.

Kane's body dropped to the floor like a rag doll and Salima starred at him for a long time, gun still raised as her heart fluttered madly against her rib cage. Finally she lowered the weapon and looked over her shoulder. The police usually did their rounds around this time and she had to get both herself and Julia's body out of there before someone came. It was inevitable that they would since someone would have heard the shot and she didn't want to be there when they showed up. Picking up Julia's legs again, Salima proceeded to drag her out the back door. She'd have to come back for Kane's body when it was safe.

-----

Salima's bright eyes glossed over as she starred down at Tala's grave. If only she hadn't promised him... if only she had hidden both bodies before he'd gotten there. Tala would have done the job himself if she hadn't, she knew that. Why else would he have brought a gun? But if she'd been just a little quicker, hidden the bodies just a little faster... then both her and her brother would have gotten their revenge and still be alive.

The redhead frowned at this thought. She'd told her brother that she'd killed Kane but she didn't say anything about Julia. Not that it mattered; she knew he would have killed Julia himself if she hadn't and he wouldn't have cared if he did know about her demise at his sister's hand. Still she should have told him...

Bright blue eyes closed for a moment as their owner fought for control. When finally she regained it, said eyes opened again and Salima starred down at the grave with a serious and determined expression. She knelt down and placed a beautiful bouquet over the freshly-turned earth and lifted her chin in the air as she starred at the picture on the tombstone.

"I will make them pay for this, brother." She promised the blue-eyed redhead in a dark whisper. "I swear on my life I will."

When the eyes in the picture seemed to sparkle in comprehension, Salima pressed her hand to her lips for a kiss before leaning down and pressing the hand to the cold, stone face. That did, the redhead turned and walked away, fully intending to carry out her promise supposing it was the last thing she ever did.

_That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia. That's the night that they hung an innocent man. Don't trust your soul to no back woods southern lawyer. Cause the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands._


End file.
